The Elder Archives
by ismansrevenge
Summary: A group of adventurers find themselves falling from the sky and landing in a far off place, far from where they'd intended to be. A strange vision is granted to them, only adding to the confusion and the questions and providing little answers. All this while surviving the ever-dangerous lands of Tamriel and the looming tension between the Aldmeri Dominion and the Empire.
1. Chapter 1: The Fall

Hi there everyone! My name is Abaddon, it's a pleasure to meet you. This story, The Elder Archives, is based off of my DnD campaign I am currently DMing. It has been running for quite a few months now and because of my great love for both my players and the story, I wanted to turn it into a novel. So, that's what this is. This will be essentially detailing the story of my campaign, without all (or at least most) of the DnD related hijinks one typically gets into, in a story book form.

As a quick note, the campaign is set in the world of the Elder Scrolls but it is a Homebrewed/Alternate Universe/original world. There is still Tamriel and all the Divines/Daedra, but the DnD canon pantheon is also real. The land of Faerun, along with other original continents, do exist in this worlds version of Nirn. It is essentially a large mashup of the canon books and the Elder Scrolls lore, with a nice handful of my own mythology, although my main focus is on the Elder Scrolls as I truly love and adore its lore. As such, there is a unique mix of races and pantheons.

In any case, I hope you enjoy the story and please feel free to leave your criticisms and feedback down below. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated as I am by no means a great writer and would love to improve on my work.

If you would be interested in images of my player's characters, the maps I have created and handouts, I'd be happy to post them in their own chapters for everyone to see.

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**Vivi**

Date: 4th Era, 410th year, ?

Vivi wasn't sure what she was expecting to wake up to the next morning, but it certainly wasn't waking up in the middle of a forest. Granted, she'd woken up in multiple forests before! Hell, her own home of Valenwood was a massive forest, but this was not where she'd gone to sleep the night before.

Looking around herself, she saw dozens and dozens of pine trees as far as the eye could see. The grass beneath her feet was verdant and green and shifted softly in the cool breeze that blew through. The moon above shone down its soft blue light, causing the trees to cast long shadows along the forest floor. She was sitting on a small log in front of a campfire. Atop the campfire was a cooking pot and a quick glance inside revealed a brown broth with vegetables and bits of meat inside.

_Oh that smells divine._ Vivi's stomach growled softly and her eyes wandered over the area in search of a bowl to pour herself some into. Maybe she could just drink some from the ladle?

Before Vivi could make a decision she might regret, she suddenly heard soft singing. Looking around, her eyes saw nothing but trees and their shadows. Vivi reached down for her spellbook, patting at air and realizing that it was gone. So were her daggers and pretty much anything else she normally had on her. She was dressed in her blue and gold mage robes but was lacking any of her normal supplies. Vivi swore inwardly and tried to stand from the log but found herself unable to move.

Approaching the small encampment, dressed in a long, sleeveless white dress with golden filigree resembling vines and flowers cascading down the length of it, was an elven woman. The woman was tall and slender in frame, extraordinarily beautiful. Her skin was a ruddy tan color, bordering on bronze but shining like gold from where the firelight reached her. Her hair was brown and tied back into a ponytail that fell down to just below her shoulders.

As she approached, her eyes met with Vivi's. They were kind and gentle, calculating and cold and held untold years of knowledge within them. They shone like sapphires whenever the light of the fire danced off of them and darkened into the deep oceans waves whenever she looked away from the fire.

Vivi made to call out to her, to ask her where she was, why she was here, what had happened to her friends. But no words came out. Try as she might, Vivi found herself uttering no noise. Confusion and fear bubbled up in Vivi's chest and she could feel her heartbeat beginning to speed up. Just as quickly, however, it faded away with the sound of the woman's singing.

The woman sang as she cooked, cutting carrots into the stew, stirring the pot and adding various other ingredients. She danced about the encampment with her eyes nearly closed, moving to the sound of her own voice and some unheard beat.

Her voice was soft and melodic yet strong and commanding. It eased Vivi's nerves and relaxed her muscles almost instantly. Vivi tried to decipher what she was saying but found herself unable to. It was a language unlike any other. It was elvish in nature, with the melodic and precisely cut endings of the elven tongue but strong and harsh at times with deep dwarvish tones. It was fascinating and the longer Vivi listened, the more she found herself being able to identify. Mere words at first, but soon phrases of the song.

Excitement replaced what was once fear and anxiousness in her chest and her eyes widened at the thought. This was no ordinary language! This was the language of the Dwemer!

I mean, Vivi had never heard it so fluently spoken in, but her studies had taken her far and wide and she had practiced in her own right to try and speak it. Reading it was far easier of course, but wow! To hear it spoken in, to hear it sung in! Did this mean that this woman was a Dwemer? But how? So many questions and no way to ask them.

Vivi attempted again to stand, to shout, to do anything. It was a futile attempt but it was better than doing nothing she supposed. She reached out a hand to the woman, to herself, attempting to cast some form of magic but was unable to do so. When she began looking around herself for something, anything to help her, she felt a hand rest against her shoulder.

Looking up and into the elven woman's eyes, Vivi was confused as the woman had stopped singing, but a soft clicking was heard. Like gears turning in place, slowly moving. Looking to the arm on her shoulder, Vivi studied it intensely. The sound was coming from the woman's arms? Vivi leaned closer and the sound grew louder to accompany the movement.

The elven woman's arm seemed natural at first glance, but upon further inspection Vivi found it to be anything but. Pieces of it stuck out above the rest of the arm, like a puzzle placed on even ground. Small slits in the arm occasionally would open and steam rushed out, hissing softly before the slits would close once more.

_Fascinating...perhaps I can convince her to let me inspect it further?_

Vivi's thoughts were quickly pushed aside as the elven woman leaned in closer, resting her head on Vivi's shoulder and wrapping her arms around her neck in a hug.

"You should wake up before you forget how to," the elven woman whispered, her breath tickling Vivi's ear.

There was a soft push and Vivi felt herself beginning to fall back off the log, no longer being held. Her eyes grew heavy and began to shut as time seemed to slow down all around her. She fell for what felt like an eternity and the last thing she saw was the blue moon in the night sky, surrounded by glittering stars.

Vivi awoke once more to the roaring of wind rushing past her ears. Oh, and she was falling. That too.

The sound of the wind was near deafening and the cold wind stung her eyes as she fell, forcing her to cover her face. Forcing herself to keep her eyes open amidst the torrent of wind, Vivi took in her surroundings as best she could. There were mountains all around her, covered in snow and rock and bits of hardy vegetation here and there. The ground was hundreds of feet beneath her and very quickly coming closer. All around herself there were other bodies.

"Moses? Lath?" Sure enough, falling around her, amidst a few others, were her two friends. Their eyes were closed and they seemed to be unconscious as they fell.

_Lucky them. They'll die a painless death meanwhile I get to feel myself turn into a crushed cherry on the ground._

Well, maybe it'd be more like a cherry pie with the bread pieces being her bones and the cherry insides would be her guts? No, it'd be more akin to a multi-tiered red velvet cake with lots of white frosting on it getting dropped from a tall building. Yeah, that's it.

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Vivi looked down once more and considered her options. She didn't have anything to stop their fall nor could she slow it at all.

Damn it! Is this really how she was gonna die? Vivi thought hard on her prepared spells, on her items, on anything she could possibly do to save herself and her companions. But nothing came to mind. Her heart rate began to increase, realization dawning on her.

Taking a deep breath, Vivi took one last look at Moses and Lathanria before she closed her eyes and braced for the impact.

Vivi awoke to bone-chilling cold. Her body shivered amidst the cold wind that rushed over her. She groaned as she got to her knees, her body aching and crying out in protest. Still, she was alive. That's gotta count for something, right?

"Vivi!"

Vivi looked to where the voice had come from, her vision still coming into focus. A figure rapidly approached her, the sound of footsteps crushing snow getting louder. Rushing forward, the figure fell to their knees in front of Vivi, a familiar face coming into sight. Lathanria.

_By the divines she was beautiful._

The cold wind blew Lathanria's white hair to the side, covering parts of her face. Her purple eyes shone like amethysts and brought a sense of calm to Vivi's soul. Most wouldn't feel the same way if a Drow was suddenly kneeling in front of them.

Lathanria placed both her hands on either side of Vivi's face, looking over her with worry. "Vivi! Vivi are you alright? Oh divines, you're freezing."

"I'm fine, love, now that you're here." Vivi rubbed her hands together, teeth chattering. "Although, I could use a warm blanket. That would be quite nice."

Lathanria smiled despite the tears staining her cheeks. "We all could. Come on, can you stand?"

Vivi, with Lathanria's initial help, slowly stood from the ground. Wearing mages robes, regardless of how pretty they were, was not a good idea for cold weather. To be fair, she didn't expect to be subjected to these temperatures.

"Where are Moses and Grix? Are they alright?" Vivi asked, taking slow steps forward, her bodily functions slowly returning to her.

"They're fine. Cold, but fine. He woke up before I did. He's with the rest of the group."

Vivi quirked a brow in silent questioning, to which Lathanria waved a hand dismissively. "The rest."

_The rest? The rest of what? Our sanity?_

Vivi didn't push it, opting to take Lathanria's hand in her own as they trudged through the snow. Taking in their surroundings, Vivi wondered where exactly they'd been dropped. All around them were scattered snow and bits of vegetation. Hardy bushes and a few pine trees stood out, thriving in the cold temperature. Mountain's encircled this area, creating a small, closed-off valley. Dark clouds loomed above, obscuring most light. Farther in the distance, Vivi spotted what looked like buildings and walls nestled against the base of a mountain. A town, perhaps? Where in the world had they fallen into? Speaking of which, how did she survive that fall? How did THEY survive that fall? Were they just naturally resistant to, 'death from falling from the sky'?

Vivi groaned and shook her head, temporarily closing her eyes in frustration. So many questions and so few answers. Maybe 'the rest' of the group would know more than she did.

Lathanria lead Vivi towards a small hill, on top of which stood a small gathering of people. They faced the distant buildings and only turned to face Lathanria when she called out to them.

Nearing the group, Vivi instantly recognized Moses and Grix.

Moses was a Nordic lad, his skin fair and his hair a soft chocolate brown. He wore dark green and brown light armor, suited to a life in the forest and in vegetation. His green eyes glared at the world as they scanned the area, brightening upon landing on Vivi. To his side stood Grix, his green drake companion. Grix stood at about hip height, his body shifting from side to side as he waited on his master's word. Upon seeing Vivi, the drake's body relaxed slightly and he made a pleased rumble in his throat.

Vivi's eyes scanned over the other 2 members of this group. One was a Dragonborn, muscular and taller than the rest, easily 6 ½ feet tall, with golden scales. He wore little-to-no armor unless you counted his red tunic and the black pants beneath it armor. He seemed to be unbothered by the cold, unlike how Vivi felt. On his back, he carried a large black cauldron, the kind used for making soups and the kind that witches made concoctions out of. In one hand he wielded a vicious looking maul, while his other held onto a pack of what Vivi assumed were supplies. A pair of reading glasses sat comfortably on his nose, little dangling cords keeping them secured on his face. He looked to be an older Dragonborn, with scales that lucked the lustrous hue of a younger man and an aged face. Still, he was an intimidating presence and Vivi found herself readying in case an attack. No attack came, instead, the Dragonborn grinned at her as she approached, his eyes twinkling with merriment.

Across from him stood the other unknown member of the group. A Dunmer man, standing a bit shorter than the Dragonborn, with blood-red eyes. He wore black and red heavy armor, with a strange beetle like crest emblazoned on parts of it. His hair was black and his skin was an ashen grey, as was the case for Dunmer. Still, he looked young for one of his people. He did not wear the same, tired wrinkles that many knowledgeable mages might. But he did have the eyes of an experienced man, and warrior, one who has seen and been the reason for their fair share of death.

His eyes scanned over Lathanria and Vivi, a small smile coming to his lips as they approached. "Good to see you back Lathanria. You must be Vivi, right?"

The Dunmer's voice was gentle but strong, a firm sound amidst the wind that was rushing over them.

"Yes, I am. I apologize if I caused any of you trouble. I was a bit...out of commission."

The Dunmer laughed and clapped Moses on the shoulder. "No trouble at all! Seems we all were out of commission, if only for a bit. Moses here was one of the first to wake up, helped us all get back onto our feet."

Moses nodded his head. "I woke up Lathanria first and then these 2. But we couldn't find you. We spent an hour or so wandering around the impact site looking for you. It wasn't until we got onto this hill that Lathanria spotted you in the distance." There was a moment of hesitation before he continued. "We almost weren't sure if we'd find you."

The Dragonborn stepped forward and smacked Vivi on the arm playfully. "It's a good thing your lady has such keen eyes! Death won't be claiming any of us just yet it seems."

Vivi did her best to keep from groaning from the smack.

_Ouch._

"Miso, not so rough now. We just found her." The Dunmer admonished the Dragonborn, now identified as Miso.

Miso laughed and patted his own arm. "Bah! She can take it! Look at her, the face of a warrior! A friendly smack isn't gonna kill her."

Lathanria pulled Vivi close, glaring at Miso. "Maybe not, but you do that again and I'll kill you."

Before either of them could continue, the Dunmer clapped his hands together, gathering everyone's attention. "Listen up everyone, we need to focus. It's cold, were lost and from those clouds above-" The Dunmer glanced up at the darkening sky "-I'd say a storm is coming. We should try and find some shelter."

Moses nodded his head in agreement. "Teris is right. We don't want to be out here longer than we have to be." Looking away from the group, Moses' eyes scanned the area before landing on the distant buildings. "Those buildings. Might be a town of some sort. I'm sure we'd be able to find some shelter there."

_Teris. So that was the Dunmer's name._

Vivi took a moment to look over Teris and Lathanria and their stark differences. Drow and Dunmer, both dubbed dark elves and both very different from one another. While drow skin varied in tones of black, deep blues and at times even purples, the Dunmer's skin tone was always an ashen gray. Dunmer eyes were an eerie but fascinating blood red whilst Drow eyes were gorgeous rays of violet and white. Such interesting differences.

"Alright everyone lets-"

Teris was cut off as Miso snorted, bits of steam and fire curling out from his nose as he stomped his feet in impatience. "Let's hurry it up! If I'm going to die, I'd rather die warm!"

Teris sighed and shook his head. He looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself, opting instead for just turning toward the distant buildings. "Stay together and keep an eye out. We don't know what or who might be living there."

With that, Teris began to lead the way, the rest of the group falling into line behind him. Moses and Grix moved off ahead of them silently, his crossbow out and ready in case of an attack.

As they walked, the winds grew in strength, battering the group. Vivi watched the clouds darken above them and snow begin to fall. It was beautiful, but it wouldn't last. Already the snow was beginning to fall at increased speeds. Pulling her robes tighter about herself, Vivi trained her eyes ahead. The buildings were far in the distance and were obscured by snow and trees. As they neared the buildings, Vivi noticed one thing. She had believed that the buildings were a small mass of houses, making up a tiny town. Instead, the buildings grew in number and extended into the distance, ending at the base of a mountain. A broken and fractured wall encircled the buildings, leading towards a single entrance. The entrance may have at one point had a gate or door of some kind, but it had long since fallen away.

Once they'd gotten closer to the settlement, they realized that they'd been wrong. This wasn't a town. This was a city. Not a large one by most people's standards, but a city nonetheless. The buildings they'd seen were made up of stone and wood, built like cabins to withstand the cold temperatures. They were short and squat, with caved-in roofs and collapsed walls. Most of them were in such a state of disrepair they barely resembled more than a pile of rubble.

"Everyone! Look for a cabin that isn't completely destroyed! There's gotta be one still standing somewhere!" Teris called out to the rest of the group. The group responded in kind and began to look around, quickening their pace as they searched for an intact cabin. It wasn't long before one of them did.

"Over here!" Miso called out to the group, waving an arm high to flag down everyone.

Snow was already falling heavy by the time they got to the cabin. Vivi entered into the cabin quickly, shaking off bits of snow as she did so. The interior of the cabin was mostly bare and not all that large, with the faintest bit of furniture strewn about the room. A few cabinets were up against the left wall, with a table and a couple of chairs pushed up against the opposite wall. A fireplace sat cold and dead at the center of the wall, with a cold pile of wood inside. A slightly ajar door lead deeper into the abode into what Vivi assumed was a bedroom of some sorts.

Moses was quick to walk over to the door, crossbow at the ready. He reached out and pushed the door open with one hand, raising up his crossbow as the door swung open. Peeking into the room, Moses sighed and lowered his crossbow. "We're clear. Just gonna need some help getting rid of those."

"Of those?" Vivi asked, confusion evident in her voice.

Moses motioned her over, pointing into the room. Vivi walked over and peeked in, finding herself staring into, as she had thought, a bedroom. A few more cabinets and chairs were strewn about the room. A pickaxe was laid against the far wall, along with some other equipment, most likely for mining.

The bed itself was fairly small, covered in blankets and furs. Beneath the mass of blankets and furs, little more than bone now were the previous owners. 2 skeletons lay on the bed, entangled in one another's arms, foreheads pressed together. They looked to still be wearing their clothing, commoners clothes.

"Oh...I see." Vivi looked over the couple and wondered how they'd died. She hoped it was a peaceful death, wrapped up in one another, traveling into the afterlife together.

"Once we've...disposed...of the bodies, we can make use of the blankets." Moses shook his head and looked behind them, at the rest of the group, who looked around the cabin. They were all cold, shivering in their clothing not meant for such temperatures. "Besides, we need the blankets a bit more than they do at the moment."

Vivi sighed and nodded her head in agreement. "We should at least bury the bodies. It doesn't seem particularly right to just toss them out into the snow."

"Agreed, but with the state of things, we should wait to bury them. I don't particularly want to go back out there." Moses wrinkled his nose at the thought, shaking his head. "Just...just give me a hand getting the blankets."

Vivi and Moses quickly got to work, carefully untangling the blankets from the bodies. They were wrapped up nice and tight, seemingly wanting their final moments to at least be warm. Vivi tried to be gentle, though it was hard to be gentle when some force was necessary. Still, they managed well enough, and in a matter of minutes, Moses and Vivi exited the room with armfuls of blankets and furs.

The rest of the group was happy to take them, eagerly wrapping themselves up. Miso took a thinner blanket for himself. When Vivi pressed him to take some of the thicker ones, he simply laughed.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm a Dragonborn. The cold doesn't bother me much. I'll be fine."

Vivi wanted to press him more but decided against it. If said he was fine, he was fine. She instead took to wrapping one of the heavier blankets around Grix, who made a low rumbling sound in appreciation.

"Miso, you mind helping me out with this?" Moses motioned to the cold fireplace, on which Moses had begun to stack some wood and scraps. Vivi was pretty sure she saw a picture frame inside.

Miso thumped off towards the fireplace, leaning down and inhaling deeply. As he exhaled, a steady stream of fire streamed out from his lips, engulfing the fireplace and lighting the wood. It took a bit, but eventually, Moses got the fireplace going properly. A soft orange glow began to light up the room with warmth slowly seeping into the awaiting groups' bodies. It was heavenly.

Vivi sat in front of the fireplace, Lathanria beside her. Lathanria took Vivi's hand in her own, holding it close to herself.

"I'm glad I found you." Lathanria pressed a kiss to the back of Vivis hand. "I would've torn the earth apart to find you."

Vivi chuckled and shifted closer, pressing a kiss to Lathanrias temple. "I know, my love. I know. Thank you for not giving up the search."

"I'd never stop looking for you." Lathanria pulled away a bit, looking into Vivi's eyes. They smiled at one another. Then, with the suddenness of a truck, Lathanria pulled one her hands into a fist and punched Vivi in the shoulder. "Don't you EVER scare me like that again!"

Vivi groaned from the punch, wincing from the pain. "Yes dear…"

A cough brought their attention away from one another and to the rest of the cabin. Sitting to their left, leaning forward in his chair and with wiggling eyebrows, was Miso. He seemed to be nodding his head as if approving the punch Lathanria had delivered. Moses sat on the floor beside Grix, both of them watching the couple with bored expressions. They'd seen this display before. Teris, the one who'd coughed, looked at them awkwardly. Once he noticed he'd gotten their attention, he smiled and addressed the group.

"I apologize for disrupting your moment. I just felt that ...well, we have some things to discuss."

Moses snickered. "Like Miso's name?"

Miso made a rumbling sound, like a low growl. "What's wrong with my name?"

Moses put his hands up in surrender, though a mischievous smile was still on his face. "Nothing! Although, I have to ask, isn't miso some kind of Western ingredient from Hammerfell?"

Miso nodded his head and sat up straighter, his eyes beaming with pride. "Indeed it is! Miso is a traditional seasoning used in Hammerfell, although I derive my name from miso soup. My full name and title are as such: Miso the Soupman, defender of the people!" Miso puffed out his chest and looked around at the group, as though he was waiting for applause. When none came, he huffed and deflated a little. "Don't look at me like that! It might not be the most intimidating of names but I can still crack you like an egg!"

Moses was trying to hold back his laughter, as was the rest of the group, to varying degrees of success.

"While your name is certainly a point of interest, Miso, that isn't what I was referring to." Teris smile faded slightly. "We need to talk about, well...how we got here. What happened. Us falling from the sky. We don't know where we are or why we're here." Teris bit his lower lip as he looked at the group. "And…the vision."

"The vision?" Miso scratched his neck in thought. "Are you referring to that strange elvish woman? In the forest?"

Teris nodded his head. "Yes, that one. She was singing in a language I've never heard before, in a forest, I don't think I've ever been to."

Vivi leaned forward curiously at hearing this. So she hadn't been the only one who saw that. That was a relief.

The rest of the group murmured their agreement, nodding their heads knowingly. Vivi coughed to gather their attention. "I saw all that as well and I think may have some answers, as small as they may be." Vivi took a moment to compose herself before continuing. "I have always been fascinated by the Dwemer. I have traveled throughout Skyrim and Valenwood in search of their ruins, studying them deeply. They are a race of mer unlike any other. Myself, being a Bosmer, I never found the need nor want to live a life underground, surrounded by metal and automatons. But the fact that the Dwemer did always fascinated me. I wanted to learn so much more about them, study their culture, their beliefs, their creations." Vivi couldn't help but smile a little.

"But the most fascinating them about them, of course, was their sudden disappearance. They left no trace of where they went or how they did it, they simply vanished."

Miso snorted, bits of steam puffing from his nose. "All this to say?"

Vivi reached out and patted the old Dragonborn on the knee. "All this to say that the woman we saw may have been a Dwemer. The language she was singing in was Dwemeris. I myself have trained and tried to speak it, although it's incredibly hard to learn a language that nobody speaks anymore. Still, I'm almost certain that's what it was. To further prove my point, did anyone else see her left arm?" Vivi's excitement was bubbling now and she was leaning forward more, eagerly awaiting a response. When none came, she continued.

"It was mechanical! At the very least, to some degree. There was the soft sound of clicking and gears moving! There were vents that would release steam and where flesh should be, there was bronze metal."

"But, this doesn't make any sense. The Dwemer have been gone for hundreds of years. Even if this woman somehow was a remaining Dwemer, why would she show herself to us? Why have us fall from the sky and wake up in the middle of nowhere?" Teris sat back in his chair, wrapping the blankets and furs tighter about himself.

Vivi sighed. "I don't know," she admitted.

Moses pat Grix on the back as he threw some more wood into the fire. "One thing is for sure, though." He turned to the group. "This is not what I expected to wake up to."

Miso nodded. "Agreed. I didn't expect to wake up either."

The group stared at Miso in confusion, mouths slightly agape. He stared back, not noticing his mistake. When he did, he laughed and slapped his knee, quickly correcting himself. "What I mean is that I didn't expect to wake up to all this. I may be old, but I am not THAT old." Miso's laughter died down as he rubbed his chin in thought. "Come to think of it, the last thing I remember was getting drunk and going to bed in Hammerfell, at the Rusty Iron Inn." Miso's jovial attitude died off as he frowned, his face growing serious. "But...that doesn't make sense. That was a long time ago, wasn't it?"

"The last I remember, I was sailing along the coast of Valenwood. I was gonna dock the next morning." Teris frowned, his eyes darting about as though following a fly. "But...but that can't be right. I had done more. I was in ...I was ..." Teris grit his teeth and began to rub his temples, his eyes narrowing. "I can't remember…"

Vivi found herself in a similar predicament. The last thing she remembered was leaving Bruma, after having crossed the border into Cyrodiil, with Moses and Lathanria. The issue is that that shouldn't be the last thing she remembered. Or at least, it felt like it shouldn't be. Vivi was almost certain they'd made it into the Imperial city, hadn't they? But then why couldn't Vivi remember? It was like Vivi was reaching into a bag that should have been full but was instead empty. Or like there was an invisible wall that was stopping her from reaching memories that should be there.

"I can't seem to remember either. It's like all my memories have been taken away. My mind just feels...empty." Lathanria shook her head, as though trying to clear it of a fog that hung around her.

Teris clapped his hands together and smiled at the group. "Well! In any case, I don't think we're going to be getting any answers any time soon. We should get some rest. Perhaps once the storm has passed, we'll be able to find some answers."

Moses nodded. "Agreed. We should take a watch, just in case. We don't know what might be waiting out there. Besides, someone has to keep the fire going."

The rest of the group mumbled their agreement. They each called a position in the watch and settled in for the night. Lathanria and Vivi laid beside the fire, with Lathanria resting her head on Vivi's shoulder. Despite the comforting warmth of her partner, Vivi found that sleep evaded her. Her mind was filled with questions and no way of answering them. Instead, Vivi found herself listening to the sound of the howling wind. The storm was growing in intensity and was battering the cabin angrily. It was strangely calming, despite the danger it posed. It grounded her in the present and took her mind off the worries she was being bothered by. Slowly but surely, she found herself being lulled to sleep by the storm, the singing of a strange woman still present on her mind.

The morning came quickly and Vivi shivered as she awoke. She slowly untangled herself from Lathanria, who grumbled softly in protest. The air, while cold, smelled of cooking meats. Looking around the room, she saw Teris and Moses already awake, tending to the fire and talking in hushed tones. Moses was the first to notice her as she stood up and stretched, her body aching from sleeping on a hard surface.

"Morning. You hungry?" Moses asked with a grin, motioning to the fire. There, slowly cooking over the fire were tender cuts of meat._ Fresh meat._ They smelled divine and Vivi's stomach wailed angrily, demanding to be fed.

"More than you know. It smells delicious. Where'd you get the meat?"

Teris laughed and clapped Moses on the shoulder. "Moses went out to hunt after the storm had died down. Seems luck and skill were on his side."

Moses shrugged. "Snowshoe hare. Not the most filling meal but certainly better than nothing. I was able to find a few, with the help of Grix of course." Moses scratched Grix under the jaw, eliciting a pleased rumble from the drake.

Vivi reached over and gently pat the drake on the side. "Good job Grix. I'll get you something nice in the next town were in."

Grix seemed pleased with this promise and curled up once more at his master's feet.

They continued to speak in hushed tones with Vivi taking the opportunity to learn more about Teris. Turns out, he's fairly young for a Dunmer, at the age of 29. He ended up leaving his hometown of Voss due to some unfortunate circumstances that similarly took his wife. He didn't give more details about the situation and Vivi didn't pry. He was nice enough and she enjoyed asking him questions about Morrowind and the great houses. It was only a matter of time before Lathanria awoke, followed shortly by Miso.

"Alright everyone-" Teris said after they'd all eaten-"we should get moving soon. The storm has finally died down so it should be safe to go."

Miso stood from where he sat, groaning as he stretched his arms and legs. Soft cracks and pops escaped him as he did so. "Very good. The sooner we leave the sooner I can get back to Hammerfell."

Vivi nodded her head in agreement. "Indeed. What I would do for a warm bed right now."

The group found themselves slowly making their way out of the building, exiting one by one. Snow had fallen and covered the ground in a layer of white fluff. Miso, having no issue with it, strode through unabashed, simply forcing his way through the 6 inches of snow. The rest were not so lucky as him and found themselves grumbling as they trudged outside.

The sun had come up and the skies were no longer covered in dark clouds. Vivi was able to see the tips of the mountains surrounding them and the many steep pathways that lead to nowhere. Vivi took note of the buildings surrounding them, all neatly aligned in rows leading to the base of the mountain in front of them. What once may have been walls had long since crumbled.

Before leaving the cabin, Moses and Teris gathered up the bodies inside and brought them out, behind the building. Miso dug 2 graves, using his claws and his maul to sweep aside dirt and snow alike. Once the bodies were in, Teris said a quick prayer to Azura before helping cover the graves once more.

The group gathered once more in front of the cabin, cold but eager to gather answers.

"We should check this place for supplies before we head out. We don't know how far we are from any sort of civilization." Teris motioned for the group to follow him as he began to trudge forward, making his way to the center of town.

Moses was quick to follow, with Grix at his heels. The pair ducked into the cabins that they could enter, ignoring ones they couldn't. Many of them had their roofs caved in or were in such a state of destruction that Moses didn't even bother searching through the rubble. The ones that hadn't been totally collapsed were quickly broken into.

Vivi mused over the cabins and their strange state of disrepair. It wasn't odd that they were in this state, broken and caving in on themselves. The elements were cruel and these wooden and stone structures must have been here a long time. What caught Vivi's eye was how they all seemed to be leaning towards the center of town. Like trees that had been bent backwards by a sudden explosion, the cabins themselves were leaning precariously towards the center of town. How strange.

"Something the matter?"

Vivi looked over to Lathanria, who had covered herself in her cloak and blankets, shielding herself from the cold and her sensitive eyes from the sunlight. "Nothing in particular. Just...look at these cabins. Isn't it a bit odd how they all seem to lean towards the center of town? Like an explosion or strong force knocked them that direction?"

Lathanria looked over the buildings for a moment before she shrugged. "I suppose. Just seems like the elements doing their job though."

"Maybe."

Vivi didn't feel so convinced but let the topic drop. What had happened here in years past was none of her concern. Not now, at least.

"Oh shit," Moses grumbled as he came out of one of the cabins. "I forgot my dagger back in the cabin. I'll be back."

Vivi couldn't help but snicker. "Don't you have extra daggers? Just leave that one, for now, we'll come back for it."

Moses ignored her and kept walking a few steps before stopping. Grix stopped beside him.

Vivi smiled and couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up in her. "Did you forget about your extras? Don't worry, I'll buy you some more daggers in the next town we get into," Vivi teased. She watched Moses stare off the way they came, his body tense. "Moses? Are you alright?"

Moses stayed silent for a moment before he looked over his shoulder at her, his brow furrowed. "I can't move."

Vivi quirked a brow at Moses, a hand going to her hip. "You can't move or won't move?"

Moses' expression became a glare as he motioned outwards, the way they had come. "I mean I CAN'T." He took a few steps back towards Vivi before walking forward again. This time, he only moved about 2 steps before stopping.

Vivi shook her head. "Moses, this is a sad joke, even for you." Walking up to her friend, she patted him on the shoulder before attempting to move forward. Keyword: ATTEMPTING. Because as soon as she got to where Moses was standing, she simply stopped. She looked down at herself in confusion, her legs not responding to her commands. She could move them, crouch and lift them, but they would not move forward. It was like there was an invisible wall or force keeping them in place.

Moses stepped back and stepped forward again, coming to a stop just as before. His body was tense and he flailed his arms wide, trying to move his legs. "Fucking move! Come on!" Moses slapped at his legs, grabbing them and trying to pull them from the ground in a futile attempt to move them. They stayed firmly rooted in place.

"Moses, relax. Hurting yourself isn't going to help anyone. I'm sure there's a way we'll be able to get out of this." Vivi looked around for the rest of the group. They hadn't gone far, still exploring the cabins and gathering what little supplies they could scavenge. "We should let the group know about this. They might be affected by this too."

Turns out, they were. Miso stamped his feet and swung his maul at the air, cursing in a mix of Common and Draconic. Teris looked confused and curious while Lathanria looked more annoyed than anything.

After a bit of experimenting, here's what Vivi was able to gather:

Their ability to walk was mostly unhindered. They weren't moving any slower or faster than normal.

So long as they moved deeper into the city or moved along a direct path left/right, their movement was unimpaired

They could not leave the city. They were only able to move a certain number of steps in a direction away from the city before they could no longer move.

They could move deeper into the city but as soon as they turned around and tried to walk away from the city, back the way they came or towards any form of exit, they faced that invisible wall and could not will their legs to move towards any exit.

This was bullshit.

Vivi watched as Miso stood behind Teris and tried to forcefully shove him forward. Teris looked over his shoulder at Miso who was unsuccessfully pushing, his claws digging into the snow and ground. Still, regardless of how hard he pushed, Teris did not budge. It was like pushing against a boulder, unmoving.

"Teris," Miso growled, "I will kill you if you are actively choosing not to move."

Teris scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, letting Miso struggle to move him. "Funny. Can you please stop? You clearly aren't getting anywhere."

Miso stopped his struggling and glared at Teris for a moment before sighing and stepping back. "Fine. We'll continue this later."

Teris rolled his eyes but said nothing.

Vivi clapped her hands to gather everyone's attention. "Everyone, let's focus. Whatever is stopping us from leaving wants us to continue deeper. I say we explore this place, get to the center of town. If we can find the source of this issue, we can take care of it."

Moses tapped his crossbow. "Oh, I'll take care of it alright."

Vivi smiled at the gesture. Admittedly, she was feeling the same way. Whatever was causing this clearly didn't want them to leave. That simply wouldn't do. Still, they needed to be careful. They could be walking straight into a trap. Oh, who was she kidding? This WAS a trap.

"Let's stay close and stay quiet. We don't know what we might be running into." Teris unsheathed his short-sword, the metal shining in the sunlight. "If you see something, let the group know. We stand more of a chance together rather than separated."

The group nodded their heads in agreement, following Teris lead as they walked deeper into the city. Vivi stuck by Lathanria, both keeping an eye out for possible enemies. The cabins themselves slowly changed as they walked, becoming more destroyed, their state of disrepair increasing. Their walls were no longer standing and the cabins became more akin to piles of rubble than any form of a recognizable building. The number of buildings also lessened as they got closer to the center of this settlement, becoming more sparse and spaced apart, as though afraid of touching one another.

"Everyone, up ahead," Teris called out, crouching down by a pile of rubble as cover.

Vivi quickly joined Teris, Lathanria by her side. Peeking over the rubble she was able to make out what looked like a clearing in the distance. The cabins came to a stop and the ground in the clearing was void of snow. What looked like a stage sat at the center, with a mass of tents and carts gathered around it. Horses, specifically draft horses, stood tied to the stage.

Teris looked to the group, keeping an eye on the clearing. "Seems like we may not be alone. What's the plan?"

"We don't have any reason to think that they are enemies, nor that they are friends. We should approach diplomatically and carefully. If we can avoid a fight, we should." Vivi motioned to some of the fallen walls and destroyed buildings. "Moses and Lathanria should take cover by the rubble and keep an eye on us. Should things go bad, they can attack from a distance. I say Miso, Teris and I approach the group. Keep our distance, find out what they are doing here. They might be stuck here like us and we may be able to help each other."

Teris nodded his head. "Sounds like a plan. Anyone opposed?" When no one raised their hands, Teris stood and sheathed his blade, keeping a hand on it in case he needed to pull it out again. "Right, let's go then."

As they approached, Vivi was able to get a better look at the area. The horses, while strong and tall, looked tired, uneasy. The cabins came to a sudden halt, encircling about 100 feet of dry dirt and gravel. Situated in a half-circle on the far side of the circular clearing was what looked like carts. 5 carts in total, each covered in a dark brown and red tarp. The symbol of a dark beetle with an ax at the center of it was painted on each of the carts in grey paint. The carts looked to be horse-drawn, with harnesses laid about on the ground haphazardly. The tents themselves looked to be a mix of dark greens and greys, situated about 20 feet away from the carts in their own circle. The stage that Vivi had seen was larger up close, with wooden steps leading up to the center platform. Looked like a place where speeches or announcements might be made.

"That's the symbol of House Redoran," Teris muttered under his breath, pointing to the beetle on the carts. "Doesn't look like we're in Morrowind though."

Vivi nodded her head but kept silent as they approached, keeping an eye out for enemies. None seemed to make themselves known. The ground itself seemed to very suddenly change from the snow-covered ground into dirt and gravel. Crossing through the threshold, the air also became significantly warmer. It was almost comfortable.

Stopping about 40 feet away from the tents, Vivi motioned for Teris to step forward. "If they're Dunmer, I think you should be the one to speak to them."

Teris bit his bottom lip for a moment before he nodded his head, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly. "Yes, you're right. Just watch my back, yeah?"

Vivi pat Teris on the shoulder. Miso hefted his maul in one hand while reaching back and patting his cauldron with the other, as though for good luck.

"Vork ne'sha. Ivk ni'fhashr dujg?" Teris voice came out clear and concise, a shame Vivi couldn't understand Dunmeris.

The tents shuffled for a moment and hushed voices could be heard coming from them. Bursting forth from the tents, swords drawn, were about 5 men. They were Dunmer, like Teris, though they wore little armor. Their clothing was soft and warm and made for the city, not the harsh wilderness. The largest and first to come charging out stopped not far from Teris, blade raised. He wore a chain shirt and bits of leather to protect himself with. A scar ran down his cheek to his clavicle and his eyes darted about wildly. The rest of the men wore similar armor, mostly studded leather and bits of padding.

"Der'shi? Folkpri ne-ah vor dihij!" The largest of the men bellowed back, taking a protective stance in front of the tents with the other men.

Vivi glanced in between the men, looking for hidden crossbows or men inside the tents. To her surprise, she saw a pair of smaller red eyes staring back at her. A child, a little girl, hid inside one of the tents, her small head peeking out just a tad before darting back in. Vivi took a closer look at the other tents and found similar discoveries. A few other women and men hid inside the remaining tents, staring out at the intruders and keeping silent.

"Teris," Vivi whispered, "I don't think they mean any harm. They look more like traveling merchants than seasoned fighters."

Teris glanced at Vivi before responding. He continued to converse with the other Dunmer, speaking calmly and gently. After a few minutes and some gesturing, the Dunmer men slowly put their weapons down, not sheathing them but not at the ready to fight.

"So, is it true? You are travelers who got stuck here as well?" The Dunmer with the scar asked in Common, his eyes looking over the 3 in front of him.

Vivi couldn't help but snicker. "Well, it's a bit more complicated than that, but in essence yes. We don't know how we ended up here and we can't seem to leave. Any attempt at escaping this city is futile."

The Dunmer nodded his head, motioning to the tents behind him. "We know. We have been stuck here for 2 weeks with no escape. Any attempt at leaving always ends the same."

"Unable to move forward?" Vivi asked.

"Unable to move forward."

"Well, it seems like we are in the same boat then. Before we continue, allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Vivi Nahloc. This here is Teris and the old Dragonborn is Miso. We don't mean any harm, we're just trying to get home."

The Dunmer looked over them, glancing over his shoulder for a moment before speaking. "My name is Berani. I am the leader of this caravan. We are traveling merchants, traveling from Morrowind to Cyrodiil and to various parts of Tamriel. We got caught in a storm and sought shelter here, only to find that we could not escape."

Vivi mentally patted herself on the back for guessing that they were traveling merchants.

Teris let go of his sword and smiled at Berani, relaxing his tense shoulders. "Well, regardless of the circumstances, it's good to see some fellow Dunmer. You are of house Redoran, yes?"

Berani sheathed his sword and motioned for the others to do likewise. The men began to disperse, returning to their tents. "Ay, that we are." Berani stepped forward and clasped Teris arm. "Always good to see a fellow brother. What brings you through these mountains and into this unfortunate situation?"

Teris chuckled and shook his head. "It is an interesting story, one with many questions and few answers. We'd be happy to share it. Perhaps it'll offer some clues as to our current predicament."

Miso and Vivi gathered up the rest of the group while Teris stayed with Berani, speaking to him in Dunmeris.

"So….whats the situation? Doesn't look like we're fighting." Moses holstered his crossbow.

"No, no fighting. It appears that they're traveling merchants. Apparently they got caught in a storm and took shelter here. They got stuck, just like us." Vivi motioned for the rest to follow her into the clearing as she talked.

Teris and Berani ceased their conversation as the rest of the group approached.

"Well then," Berani said, "Why don't you tell us how you got into this predicament and we'll see if we can help each other."


	2. Chapter 2: The Presence

Author Notes/Chapter Summary:

The party asks Berani a couple of questions but find themselves just as confused as before. A statue looms in the distance, its hand extended. Muvus will probably take classes into Barbarian when he's older.

* * *

**Vivi**

_Date: 4th Era, 410th year, ?_

Turns out, Miso was great with children. After a few introductions, Miso found himself immediately attacked by Berani's twin daughters. Violet, a bright young thing with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes, kept trying to hop into Miso's cauldron. Rose, the older of the two, used what little paints she had to color Miso's scales a myriad of colors. In a matter of minutes, a good majority of his left forearm looked like a rainbow had thrown up on him. Still, he took it all in stride and laughed all the way, chasing the girls around and inviting the other children to play as well. The parents watched with amusement as their children danced and played with the old Dragonborn.

While Miso played with the young ones, the rest of the group found themselves seated around a campfire, talking with Berani. The group did their best to explain to him what had happened, their strange fall from the sky, their vision and their waking up on the outskirts of this city.

"That is indeed very strange," Berani mused. "Unfortunately, I am just at a loss as you are. I have no idea who that woman in the forest might be, Dwemer or not, nor how or why you ended up here. I'm sorry."

Vivi figured that would be his answer, but it was still disappointing to hear.

"You might not have any answers for us in that regard, but I do still think you can help us by answering a few questions." Teris motioned to the area about them. "Starting with where we are exactly."

"Well for starters, you're in the Valus Mountains, separating Cyrodiil from Morrowind. I'd say we're about halfway through if memory serves correctly." Berani looked over and took the offered pastry his daughter held up to him. It was partially crushed, but he smiled and ate it nonetheless. Violet grinned at her father and took off once more, giggling as she chased after Miso, who seemed to be running in fake terror from a mob of Dunmer children.

Vivi whistled. "The Valus mountains?" Her eyes darted between Moses and Lathanria, who looked equally as confused. "That is…quite a distance from where we started."

Lathanria pat Vivi on the hand, giving her a small smile before turning to Berani. "Last we remember, we had barely left the city of Bruma and were headed to the Imperial City. To end up here…" Lathanria snickered, "well, we must have been quite drunk."

Berani laughed heartily, a pleasant sound. "Indeed! If only that was the case, yes?"

"What about this place?" Moses asked. "Do you have any ideas to how or why we are stuck here?"

Berani took a moment to think. "Unfortunately, no. We have no idea why or how this is happening. Although…" Berani hesitated and rubbed his hands together, glancing down at the ground. "My brother, Beryldn. He began acting strangely a few days ago. He claimed to hear something, like a voice, whispering in his ear." He sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. "He is a gentle soul. One of the kindest and hardworking men I have ever had the honor of knowing. But he began to grow violent, paranoid. Claimed that we were planning something against him, to sacrifice him." Berani looked off, deeper into the city, squinting his eyes as he scanned the distance. "He ran off a couple of days ago. Said he couldn't take it, couldn't trust us. He claimed that he needed to find some statue. We don't know where he is or if he's even alive still."

Vivi mused over this new information. A voice had been talking to him? Perhaps this was all the doing of some mage then. That would indeed answer the question of who was behind this but not why.

"Did any of you go after him?" Moses asked, kindly taking one of the offered pastries Violet offered him but not eating it. She stood there in silence, watching Moses with an eerie sense of expectation. He stared back at her, his eyes glancing at the rest of the group in a silent plea for help. None came, though Miso did give Moses a double thumbs up. Moses did not look all the more pleased. Moses forced what passed for a smile as he took a bite of the pastry.

His face twisted into a grimace before quickly returning to a smile as he chewed and swallowed. Moses nodded his thanks to Violet who, seemingly pleased, ran off. As soon as she was gone, he tossed the rest to Grix, who snatched it out of the air. Grix reaction was no better than Moses and the drake found himself coughing out bits, clearly unhappy with his choice in a meal.

"Aye, we did. I ran after him, hoping to talk reason into him. I stopped chasing though, realizing that I may not be able to return to the campsite. Thankfully, it seems whatever power holds us here has no care to hold us further back. We are free to go deeper into the city and return to this campsite as we please."

Vivi reached out and pet Grix, absentmindedly running her fingers up and down his muscled neck.

"We tried to find him after that, but to no avail. He simply vanished. We did, however, find a statue. It's not far from here. We aren't sure if that's the statue he was referring to or not, or if it even matters."

"I'm sorry for your loss. If your brother is still alive, we will find him. I promise you this." Teris said, reaching out and placing a hand on Berani's shoulder. The older Dunmer simply nodded his head.

"Thank you, I appreciate that. I don't have much to offer you all, but I'd be happy to give you a ride to Cyrodiil if you find a way to break us out of this place."

"Why haven't you tried to find whatever it is causing all this? You look like trained fighters." Moses asked.

It was a good question, one Vivi herself had been wondering.

"We are trained, of course, as most everyone in House Redoran is. But we are not fighters nor adventurers. We make our living through trade and a silver tongue. That is our strong point. If this were a wolf or bear that was stopping us, we would surely have been able to deal with it. But this…" Berani's eyes glanced about the area, as though checking to make sure they weren't being watched. "This is not something we have ever fought. We have families here. We thought that if we waited long enough, the rest of our caravan would come by and free us. Or at the very least be able to help. Strength in numbers and all that."

Vivi understood where Berani was coming from. These weren't fighters, not like Moses or Lathanria. They were merchants, skilled tradesmen who used their hands to till the earth and wits to sell their wares. If this wasn't even the entirety of his caravan, then waiting for them wasn't a bad idea. Like Berani said, there was strength in numbers. Although numbers meant little against a foe that could burn your group in one fell swoop.

"Seeing as we are just as stuck as you are, I say we find the source of this magic and deal with it," Vivi said, standing and looking at everyone. "I have no intention of dying here, nor do I have the time nor patience to wait for the rest of your caravan. I am trained in the arcane arts and I would rather face this threat head-on than cower and wait for it to strike."

Moses stood with her, his crossbow slipping smoothly into his hands. "I agree. I have no intention of sitting back and waiting. I say we meet this voice and have a little…chat." Grix stood and hissed, his powerful muscles tensing as the drake looked at the rest of the group, seemingly agreeing with its master.

Lathanria was quick to stand and agree, intertwining her arm through Vivis. Teris followed suit and stood, declaring that they would find the source of this present predicament and take care of it. All that was left was Miso who looked to be far too caught up with the children to notice or even hear what was happening.

"Miso!" Moses called out, waving him over. The old Dragonborn glanced up from his place on the ground, a small swarm of children taking turns jumping over him. Miso quickly stood up, dusting himself off and marching over to the campfire, the children marching behind him like a tiny group of soldiers.

"Yes?" Miso asked, looking around at the group expectantly.

"Miso, we are going to go deeper into the city and find whatever it is that's keeping us here. Would you like to join us? We could certainly use your strength." Vivi gave Miso a brilliant smile, doing her best to be persuasive.

Miso considered her words and slowly trailed his eyes from the group, to the children and then back to the group. "Do I get to kill something?"

"Most likely," Vivi said. "With any luck, however, we won't need to fight anyone or anything."

Miso shrugged. "Good enough for me. Children!" Miso turned on his heels and gave the gathered army of kids a playful salute. "I will return shortly! Be good, don't cause trouble and Muvus!"

A small Dunmer boy jumped at the mention of his name, standing taller as Miso stared down at him. The boy carried what looked like two pieces of hefty wood strapped together, forming a makeshift weapon. Miso stepped towards him and smiled.

"Remember Muvus, if you're going to hit someone-"

"Hit them hard!" Muvus exclaimed proudly, hefting his makeshift weapon.

Miso bellowed in laughter and turned back to the group, a grin on his face. Muvus mother did not look nearly as pleased and was quick to pull him away, a stern look on her face.

"So! What's happening? When do I get to smash something?"

Vivi wondered if Miso was joking or serious. She hadn't taken him for someone so eager to get into a fight. Then again, he carried around that maul for a reason. Perhaps it was a good thing that he was on their side.

"Well, firstly, we need to find this statue. It was the last thing Berani's brother had been talking about so it may give us some idea as to his disappearance and the source of this strange power." Vivi turned to Berani. "I won't ask you to put your life in any more danger than it already is. However, we do need someone to guide us to the statue. Would you be willing to take us there?"

Berani bit his bottom lip in thought. "If you're going to go off and fight whatever is keeping us here then that is the least I could do. Give me just a moment to get ready and then we will head out." Berani bowed his head for a second before taking his leave, returning to his tent.

The rest of the group split off into their own little groups, preparing themselves for whatever may come and awaiting Berani. Teris sat by the fire, his sword in hand. He dragged his fingers along the flat part of the blade, muttering softly to himself. Runes along the blade glowed as his fingers passed over them, before fading away.

"You're an Eldritch Knight, aren't you?" Vivi asked, motioning to the blade. "I have seen many of my father's personal guard perform similar rituals. They attune themselves to their blades and it gives them the ability to call it to their hand at any time. Once upon a time, I wanted to learn something akin to that."

Teris looked a bit surprised but smiled, nodding his head. "Yes, I am an Eldritch Knight. I was taught to fight at an early age with weapons of all kinds. But I was never satisfied with simply slashing at my opponents, I wanted to learn magic." Teris turned the blade over in his hand, inspecting it closely. "I am no wizard, but my knowledge and ability have served me well." He turned his attention back to Vivi, his eyes curious. "What about you? With all due respect, you don't seem the blade-wielding type. I assume you and Lathanria are some form of spellcasters?"

Vivi wanted to be offended, if only a tiny bit, but had to concede to his point. He was right, after all. While Vivi wasn't weak in any sense of the word, she was no warrior. Her power came more through her knowledge and her ability to always have a backup plan. Almost, always, have a backup plan.

"You're right. I am no warrior, not like you, but I have my ways. My main source of strength comes from my study of the arcane arts." Vivi's eyes flashed a brilliant blue and crackled with power before returning to normal. "I may not be able to wield a sword, but I am no less dangerous."

"I am also a spellcaster. Although, unlike Vivi, my power comes more from the earth." Lathanria reached down to the ground and waved her hand a bit, muttering some words underneath her breath. In a matter of seconds, bits of greenery began to break through the dirt and stone. Flowers, just a few of them, grew where her hand had moved.

Teris whistled, his eyes wide. "A Drow who is a Druid. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I would love to hear that story."

Lathanria waved her hand. "It's nothing special. Should we survive whatever fate has in store for us, I would be happy to tell you my story. Preferably over a hard drink or two."

Teris laughed and nodded his head. "That sounds like a plan to me."

"What plan are we talking about?" Miso asked as he rejoined the group. He had finished strapping his cauldron onto his back and had said his goodbyes to the children. The children, for their part, looked sad to see him go. Miso waved them goodbye and watched them depart back to their tents.

"We were just discussing our preferred methods of fighting," Teris said, sheathing his blade. "What is your fighting style, Miso? Do you serve your enemy's food until they explode?"

Miso snickered at this. "No, I don't do that. Although perhaps one day I'll try it." He paused for a moment, seemingly considering the pros and cons of feeding an enemy until they exploded.

"I use my maul-" he continued "-to do my damage." Miso hefted said maul, tossing it in between his hands like a child would a lollipop. "If I don't kill or defeat my opponent with the first few hits, it just means I need to hit them harder." Miso grinned at this, his eyes roaming the maul with pride. "That always does the trick."

Vivi wondered how many opponents had been on the opposite end of that maul. The thought of some poor sap insulting Miso's cooking and then being promptly turned into a stain on the ground made her snicker a bit.

While the rest of the group continued to talk, Vivi let her eyes wander. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, just looking. She saw Berani talking with his wife, Vesha. She looked worried, her hands holding his tightly as they talked. She let her eyes roam over the buildings, reconstructing them in her mind, imagining what they'd looked like before all this.

She spotted Moses, facing deeper into the city, with Grix by his side. He stood at the threshold, where dirt and gravel transitioned into bitter snow. She couldn't see his face but she didn't doubt it was as it always was. Serious, determined, most likely with a frown. He never seemed to smile enough. It wasn't that he wasn't able to smile, surely not that. He just chose not to. He always kept an eye out, always looking over his shoulder, never too careful. It was something Vivi admired about him, his awareness, his will to survive. Still, it was a double-edged sword in its own right.

Standing from her seat, she gave Lathanria a quick kiss on the cheek before departing. Lathanria, Miso and Teris were in a heated discussion about something or other. Vivi didn't pay it much mind and instead made her way over to Moses. He didn't look back at her as she approached.

"Is something wrong, Moses?"

The Nord glanced at her for a moment before turning his attention back to the city. His eyes scanned the myriad of structures and toppled homes as though he expected someone to be there.

"No...not really." Moses tilted his head upwards and inhaled deeply. "Just have a bad feeling is all."

Grix made a low rumbling sound from besides Moses. The drake looked on edge, like his master.

Vivi wasn't sure what had made her companions so uneasy. Yes, admittedly, this wasn't the best situation they could hope to be in but they at least had some answers. They knew the next steps they had to take and there was still hope of making it home.

"I'll be fine," Moses said, seeing the worry and confusion on Vivi's face. "I'm just overthinking things." He looked back at the group and watched Miso and Lathanria both turn on Teris. Teris, for his part, appeared as smug as a cat. His arms were crossed and he was smiling silently at the two as they yelled at him and gestured wildly. He seemed to be winning whatever argument they may have been having. Good for him.

"Can you tell me what it is you're overthinking? I'm sure I could help." Vivi placed her hand on Moses' shoulder. He looked into her eyes, searching for something. After a moment he sighed and broke the stare.

"It's just me being irrational. It isn't possible, anyways."

"What isn't possible? Moses, if you tell me I'm sure I can help." Vivi placed a hand on his shoulder. "You know that I don't judge."

Moses snorted in response, shaking his head. "Look, it's-"

"Moses, Vivi! It's time!"

VIvi looked back to the campfire and saw Teris waving the pair over, Berani standing besides him, arms crossed.

Vivi made to respond but a firm hand clasped hers, squeezing gently before releasing. Moses was looking at her, his eyes unreadable. "Let's just go. We can talk about this later."

Vivi wanted to talk about it now. She wanted to pester him, turn him inside out like a bag and spill all his secrets.

_Ew, gross._

She wrinkled her nose and eyed Moses warily.

Moses didn't bother meeting her gaze and simply began walking towards the group. Grix lagged a bit behind him, looking up at Vivi for a moment before following in his master's footsteps.

Fine, Vivi would wait. But this discussion was far from being over.

Vivi followed in Moses' footsteps, arriving not long after him by the fire they'd been sitting around. Lathanria moved to her side, a look of defeat and annoyance on her face. Miso wore a similar expression. Teris, on the other hand, smiled smugly. His eyes crinkled at the edges in amusement. Berani, while he wore a smile, did not have the same level of amusement in his eyes. He looked more serious and worried than the rest of them. Probably cause he had more immediate family in more immediate danger than the rest of them.

Speaking of which, Vivi really needed to get better at keeping in touch with her family. When was the last time she wrote to them? A couple of months ago? Vivi made a mental note to write to them as soon as she got the chance.

"Is everyone ready?" Berani asked the group, looking around at all of them. He wore what little armor he had available, sword sheathed and shield ready. They each nodded in turn, hefting their respective weapons. "Alright. May whatever gods we worship watch over us." With that, Berani turned and lead them deeper into the city. His wife watched him go, her eyes full of worry and a frown on her face. His two daughters waved him goodbye and wished him luck. Berani smiled at them and waved back, promising them that he'd return shortly.

A promise Vivi would make sure he wouldn't break.

As soon as they stepped foot outside of the strange threshold that surrounded the area, they were subjected to the cold once more. Bitter winds chilled their bones as they began wading through the snow. Vivi had become rather comfortable with the warmth provided inside the campsite. Suddenly being subjected to such cold was...well, it wasn't fun.

The sky was cloudy and dark and snow had long since stopped falling. Still, the wind that blew through was cold, persistent. It always seemed to find its way past Vivi's armor and robes, chilling her in places it shouldn't be reaching. Vivi shuddered from the cold, wrapping the heavy blanket they'd taken from the cabin tightly around herself.

They walked in silence for about 10 minutes with only the sound of crunching snow to fill the space. Occasionally, Moses would veer off from the rest of the group, investigating the ruined buildings for loot before returning to the group. Each time he returned, he seemed more on edge, more uneasy. He sniffed the air and kept looking over his shoulder as though he expected to see someone there. Grix was just as agitated, his muscles tense and his eyes darting about. Vivi wanted to reach out and calm him, to assure him that they would be fine. But she knew she couldn't. She had no idea what they'd be facing and didn't want to give him false hope. So she simply kept silent, kept walking, kept her eyes peeled and her spells at the ready.

Lathanria seemed more bothered by the daylight than the cold. Thanks to the dark clouds, she wasn't as affected, but it still seemed to hurt her sensitive eyes. Lathanria kept her head down and her face covered by her hood, shielding herself from the elements and the sunlight.

Miso, once again, seemed to be the only one unaffected by the cold. He moved through the snow as if it wasn't even there, a smile on his face as he hummed a soft tune to himself. If he was worried about what they might face, he didn't show it.

Teris walked alongside Berani at the front of the group. Their hands were at their blades, fingers drumming along the pommel in anticipation.

Vivi was beginning to think that they'd gotten lost when Berani suddenly stopped, raising a fist above his head. Ahead of them, standing in a clearing similar to the campsite they'd just come from, was an alabaster statue. It stood tall and proud at the center of a clearing, gravel and dirt in a hundred-foot circle around it. At the edges of the circle was a ring of ruined buildings, all blown away from the statue.

"That's the statue." Berani scanned the area, shifting his weight from one foot to another. His hand was gripping the hilt of his sword, uneasiness evident on his face.

Vivi moved closer, studying the statue itself. It stood on a solid, square base of smoothed stone that was embedded into the earth. The statue itself was humanoid, wearing the light armor so recognizable to the imperial legion. A cloak fell down over the left shoulder of the statue, a sign of importance in the legion. The statue stood with one hand on its hip, holding the hilt of a sheathed blade. The other was extended outwards, hand open, with its palm facing upwards as though waiting to be handed something. Vivi expected there to be a handsome, human face attached to the muscular body but instead found a stump. Whatever head may have at one point been there had been torn off, leaving a jagged stump in its place.

Vivi took another look around herself, at the buildings and their architecture. They didn't seem particularly imperial. Although to be fair, Vivi wasn't an expert on imperial architecture and building work. Still, these buildings seemed very old in comparison to the statue, which looked extraordinarily new. Its alabaster skin was flawless and clean with not so much a smudge of dirt on it.

This was definitely a trap. Vivi had read plenty of fictional books in her time and this stood out as one of many situations she'd read about. She figured one of two things was going to happen.

They step inside the clearing and are immediately ambushed on all sides by bandits and a dirty looking mage with an ego problem

The statue comes to life and attacks them, probably built as a last-ditch effort to protect whoever lived here but instead becoming corrupted one way or another and instead killing those it was charged to protect.

Vivi knew the better option would most likely be the former but hot damn she wanted it to be the latter option. She'd never fought a statue before. Well, there was that time that-

"I should get going." Berani interrupted Vivi's thoughts. His eyes were locked on the statue and he had unsheathed his weapon slightly, revealing a bit of the blade. "I would only hinder you."

Teris looked over Berani for a moment before nodding his head, reaching out and putting his hand over Berani's. There was the soft sound of a blade being sheathed as Teris pushed Berani's hand back, putting the blade away. "Go back to your family. We will take care of this."

Berani did not take his eyes off the statue, nodding his head slowly. "Yes...yes...I'll do that." He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a couple of deep breaths and shaking his head gently. He reopened his eyes and locked his gaze with Teris. They stood there for a moment, silence engulfing them before Berani nodded his head and stepped back. "Good luck. Don't die." He took one last look at the statue before turning and walking back the way they'd come.

Vivi watched him go until his form disappeared from sight. She wondered, for a moment, what would happen to them if they didn't succeed. But only for a moment.

"All right everyone," Teris spoke up. "Does anyone have any ideas as to what we should do?"

Miso raised a hand, an eager smile on his face.

"Ideas that don't involve smashing the statue."

Miso lowered his hand.

"I'm gonna scout around the perimeter, make sure we're truly alone." Moses took off without another word, Grix hot at his heels as they moved.

Vivi watched Moses go, keeping an eye on him as he moved from building to building, stealthily checking them before moving on. It was hard to keep track of him. She would see him and Grix disappear into a building and then re-appear a building down, seemingly from nowhere. Vivi would be lying if she said that she didn't envy his stealth capabilities. Having that kind of skill would have certainly helped her when she was younger. Would have gotten her out of so much trouble.

In a matter of minutes Moses returned. He looked, if possible, more uneasy. His eyes darted about and he had unsheathed his short sword long ago. Grix stared at the statue, body tense as though waiting for something.

"We're alone." Moses didn't seem to be convinced by his own words, his eyes continuously returning to the statue. "I think that we-"

"I think that YOU need to sit down, take a moment to yourself." Moses tried to interrupt and Vivi simply shushed him, eyes narrowing dangerously. "I will not repeat myself, Moses."

Moses glared at Vivi for a moment before huffing and walking off, taking a seat on what remained of the patio of a house. At least, Vivi assumed it was a patio. Regardless, she turned away from Moses and returned her attention once more to the rest of the group.

"So, any ideas as to what we're gonna do? Personally, I think we should try throwing some spells at it from a distance. Might trigger something." Might also give them a head start in case it woke up and wanted to rip out their internal organs.

Teris quirked his brow and looked at Vivi. "You want to cast spells at it?"

"Yes, in fact, I do. Does anyone have any better ideas?"

Miso pointed to the base of the statue. "Why don't we try approaching the statue? It seems to be partially buried in the earth. Maybe it acts as a staircase that leads further down?"

That actually wasn't a bad idea. Well, it was a dangerous idea, but it wasn't entirely bad. The rock the statue stood upon looked quite large and there was no telling how deep in the earth it was embedded. If it was a staircase though, Vivi wasn't sure how they'd unlock it.

"That's not a bad idea Miso. I think if it is a staircase of some sort, it might be magically locked. I still say you give me some time to use spells on it. It's at least safer than approaching it and having it kill us on the spot."

Teris nodded his head and stepped back, giving Vivi room to do her thing. Which is exactly what she did. She took some time to flip through her spellbook, considering which spells she might want to use. The statue was still a good distance away and she didn't want to risk stepping into its sphere of influence, not yet.

Hefting her book into one hand, she began reciting the spells incantations and stretched out a hand towards the statue. A ghostly, skeletal hand formed beside the statue. Its fingers were long and boney and it reared back as if to attack. It came down in a slashing motion, dragging its nails against the stone and leaving behind a trail of dark energy. The hand quickly whirled around and grasped onto the statue, digging itself firmly into place and holding there.

Vivi waited for the statue to rise and attack her, for it to do something, anything. But it simply stood there, motionless. The most interesting part was not its lack of movement, but its state. Where the hand had clawed at the statue, there were no visible marks. There was no indication that it had been attacked at all. What little bit of necrotic energy had lingered had vanished and, most curiously, the hand was moving of its own accord.

Well, on its own was a little much. The hand looked to be getting pulled, dragged away from its position. In a flash, the hand was dragged away from where it had been viciously holding onto and was sent spiraling towards the outstretched hand of the statue. As soon as the skeletal hand landed onto the palm of the statue, it exploded. Bits of arcane energy flew in every direction before being suddenly sucked back.

Vivi watched in amazement and curiosity as, sitting on the statue's extended hand, was now a flame. It was a dark blue/black energy akin to the color of the skeletal hand. It sat there, swaying slightly and burning bright.

"Well, that did something." Vivi wasn't entirely sure what exactly but it was something. She briefly wondered if she should try casting the spell again but decided against it.

"Any idea as to what that did?" Teris asked, eyeing the statue warily. He looked like he expected the flame to shoot out at him if he wasn't careful.

Come to think of it, it might. Vivi took a step back, keeping an eye on the statue. It didn't move, didn't even seem to register that anything had happened to it. If it was some kind of automaton waiting to strike it was incredibly patient.

"Should I try casting another on it? Maybe with Lathanria this time?"

Teris looked the statue up and down, seemingly weighing the pros and cons. "Maybe it requires more power to open up. I say yes, go for it."

Vivi nodded her head and looked to Lathanria. She was still bundled up and clearly unhappy. Still, a quick kiss on the nose and a few softly spoken words brought a smile to her face.

_Divines I love her_

Vivi took Lathanrias hand in her own and gave it a gentle squeeze. Lathanria squeezed the hand back, smiling at Vivi.

Together, they both began to cast their spells, waving their hands and reciting the incantations necessary to cast them. Vivi had opted to go for the same spell since it had garnered a reaction out of the statue. Perhaps doing it again might trigger more.

Moses suddenly dashed across Vivi's field of vision, surprising her enough to where she lost her concentration and dropped the spell. Lathanria, similarly, lost her spell and cursed under her breath.

"What the fuck, Moses?" Lathanria growled, glaring at the Nord as he ran forward, Grix following behind him.

"Moses! Stop!" Vivi called out to him. But it was too late. He had already crossed the threshold and stepped foot onto the gravel and dirt that surrounded the statue. Grix followed him dutifully.

Vivi hesitated for just a second before taking off after Moses. She could hear Lathanria following behind her. She ignored Teris and Miso's cries of protest. This wasn't like Moses. He never ran headfirst into a situation. That was Vivi's job! Which of course meant that something was very wrong. She needed to get to him.

Vivi got to him not long after he'd arrived at the base of the statue. His body was tense and he was staring up at it, eyes wandering, looking for something. Grix was doing the same, his snout sniffing the air and his eyes scanning the base of the statue.

"Moses! What's wrong? Why did you suddenly run towards the statue?" Vivi asked, grabbing him by the shoulders and turning him towards herself. His eyes were wild, confused. He looked lost like he wasn't sure how he got there.

"I...the voice...it told me ...it told me to get closer to the statue." Moses brow furrowed in confusion and he looked between Lathanria and Vivi. "Did you not hear it? It told me ... I thought…" Moses shook his head and groaned, raising his hands to the sides of his head and closing his eyes. "Wait, I need a moment."

"A moment is all you're getting. We need to go." Vivi took Moses by the hand and began walking back the way they'd come. Or at least she tried to. She took Moses' hand and tried to walk but found herself, once again, being unable to move.

Vivi looked down at her feet and found that they were slowly sinking beneath the earth. She could feel herself beginning to panic and commanded herself not to do so. Now was not the time. Vivi struggled to get herself free, groaning as she pulled against the earth. It was like quicksand. No, this was worse than quicksand. The ground itself seemed to be fighting them, pulling them down faster regardless of whether or not they struggled.

Vivi looked around herself, trying to figure out a way to get them out of this situation. She could hear Teris and Miso yelling something but she didn't pay attention to it. She did chance a glance at them and found them rushing forward. She wanted to warn them, to tell them to stop, that they might be caught up in this too. But the words never left her.

She was waist-deep now and her mind was still blank. Lathanria was looking at her, fear and confusion in her eyes. She was shouting something at her but it sounded muffled. Everything sounded muffled.

Vivi wanted to struggle, wanted to fight this thing. She didn't want to die this way. But the will to struggle seemed to have left her. There was a strange sense of peace over her as she sunk further into the earth.

"Let yourself sink. It's for the best."

Yeah, that's right, it was for the best. Vivi smiled to herself. The voice was right, after all. This was for the- WAIT A MINUTE.

Sound came rushing back to her. The sound of Lathanria screaming, Moses and Grix struggling against the earth, the distant sound of Miso and Teris yelling. It crashed into her and she gasped for air. That voice! That was the voice Berani's brother had heard! The one Moses heard!

Vivi looked around herself, eyes widening. She was shoulder deep now and sinking fast. She struggled, tried pulling her arms up, tried kicking against the dirt. It was to no avail.

"Vivi!" Lathanria cried out as she was pulled under, her head disappearing beneath the dirt. There was nothing left. It was as if the earth hadn't even been disturbed. If it wasn't so horrible, Vivi would have been fascinated.

She would also prefer to not be in this situation but, ya know, you don't always get what you want. Vivi looked around and knew all too well that she wouldn't be getting out of this. Taking a deep breath, Vivi closed her eyes and simply let herself sink.

The earth itself seemed to be grasping at her, pulling her under with its heavy hands. She could feel the dirt moving of its own accord, little tendrils clawing their way up her body. It was at her neck, then her cheeks, then her nose. And then there was darkness.


	3. Chapter 3: The Library

**Vivi**

_Date:4th era, 410th year, ?_

Vivi didn't appreciate losing control over her own thoughts. She certainly didn't appreciate being controlled by some strange voice and she ESPECIALLY didn't appreciate someone harming her friends and family.

All that being said, well played strange man voice. She had not at all expected the ground itself to pull her down like living quicksand. That was definitely a new one.

Vivi held her breath as she was pulled under, closing her eyes and hoping for the best. She could feel the ground close in around her, cutting her off from the above world and from any air.

It was a very strange feeling. If she had to describe the experience, she would say that it felt a lot like being swallowed by a massive creature and moving through its bowels. Her entire body was stiff and being pressed against but she was still moving. The bowels of the earth undulated and moved around her, forcing her deeper and deeper at ever-increasing speeds.

Her lungs began to ache but she dared not inhale. Somehow, dirt wasn't getting shot up into her nostrils but that was a small reprieve in this situation.

Just as the thought of suffocating came into her mind, she felt the pressure all around her body release. There was a _*shrlorp* _sound and she was suddenly falling. Again.

Vivi flailed her arms as she fell, spinning and contorting in an attempt to catch herself. It didn't work. She landed on solid ground with a heavy _thud_ a moment later. Unlike the last time this happened, she didn't have the relief of passing out and dodging the immediate pain.

"Ouch…" Vivi groaned, coughing a bit. That fall was definitely gonna leave some bruises.

"Vivi!"

Responding to her name, Vivi looked up to see Lathanria in a very similar state. A look of discomfort was on Lathanria's face as she stood from her position a few feet away. She made her way over to Vivi, helping up the other woman from her fallen position.

"You okay?" Lathanria asked, patting some dirt off of Vivi's robes and checking her for wounds.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Could've really used a softer landing." Vivi stretched herself out a bit, groaning at the feeling.

"Couldn't we all," grumbled Moses. He had already stood on his own and was helping roll Grix onto his legs. The poor drake had landed in an awkward position between two collapsed pillars and couldn't seem to get out. Wait? Pillars?

Before Vivi could take the time to study them further, the same _*shrlorp*_ sound was heard, followed by two more screams. Vivi and Lath both jumped aside just in time to avoid being crushed beneath Miso and Teris. Teris landed flat on his back, groaning in pain. He didn't have much time to dwell on his pain as Miso landed on top of him.

Despite his old age, Miso was incredibly agile (or perhaps incredibly lucky) and was able to land on his feet on top of Teris. The old Dragonborn grinned and looked around at the rest of the group, taking a _tah-dah!_ stance.

"HA! A fall like that is nothing," Miso chortled. It wasn't until Teris began slapping at Miso's leg that the Dragonborn noticed. He was quick to step off of Teris and help him up, apologizing in-between bits of laughter.

"It's fine…. it's fine…" Teris wheezed in between breaths, waving away Miso's apologies. "Gods above that hurt…"

Lathanria was quick to approach Teris, looking him over for any serious injuries. He struggled a little but Lathanria ignored his weak protests. She concluded that he was fine, except for some likely bruising.

While all that was happening, Vivi let her eyes wander and take in her surroundings. The group seemed to have fallen into some sort of circular, underground chamber. The walls were made of rock and earth, roots poking through in various places. The ground was, strangely enough, smoothed over cobblestone bricks. A few collapsed pillars lay strewn about the chamber. They seemed to have, at one point, supported the ceiling of the chamber but had long since collapsed. The chamber itself opened up into a long corridor that deeper in. Torches hung along the walls, providing faint fire light.

From what Vivi could see, the path seemed to curve downwards and to the right slightly. In the distance, she could barely make out what looked like another chamber entrance or corridor on the left side. This place seemed far less like a series of underground caves and more like a man-made network of tunnels beneath the earth.

_Interesting. _

"Thank the gods you're all alright." Teris smiled at the group, a look of relief on his face. "For a moment, we thought we'd lost you!"

Vivi quirked a brow, a smile tugging at her lips. "So, in your panic, you decided to jump in after us? Wouldn't that have meant you would have died too?"

Teris looked confused for a moment before frowning, opening his mouth to reply but closing it again. "I ...I didn't think about that."

Miso laughed and clapped Teris on the back, knocking him forward a bit. "Neither did I! Thankfully, we didn't jump to our deaths and instead have ended up...uh...underground?" Miso looked around quizzically, confusion evident on his face.

"It seems so. Whatever is causing all our trouble is probably down here. Which means-" Vivi's eyes flashed with arcane power "-we have work to do. Shall we?" Vivi didn't wait for a response and instead began marching off down the tunnel, her eyes set forward.

The sound of scrambling footsteps could be heard behind her as the rest of the group gathered up and followed. As they walked, it became more and more evident that wherever they had landed was much larger than it seemed. A doorway opened up to the left while the corridor continued onwards.

Slowing, Vivi motioned for the group to remain silent and for Moses to come forward with her. Together, the pair silently crept towards the entrance and peeked in.

Inside, in another, larger, circular chamber was what appeared to be a small library. Shelves lined the walls and a long table sat at the center of the chamber. What was particularly odd was what appeared to be Draugr, about 10 of them, all milling about the place. Draugr were ancient, undead Nords that lingered on in the world. They were dressed in tattered robes, bits of armor and sheathed, Nordic swords on their backs. Their skin was pulled taut against their bones and their eyes glowed an eerie blue. Some sat at the table, reading from a myriad of tomes and taking notes on them. Some seemed to be reorganizing and stocking the shelves, placing books where they belonged. Occasionally, one of these undead would rise from their seat at the table and close their book, returning it to its place before taking another and returning to its seat to read it.

Vivi, ever a lover of books, wanted desperately to know what those books held. However, she knew well enough that Draugr could be formidable foes, regardless of their appearance. She'd fought enough of them in Skyrim to know this simple fact.

Moses tapped Vivi on the arm, motioning silently for them to fall back and return to the group.

"So, what did you find?" Miso asked, his maul in hand. "Do I get to kill something?"

"Possibly. We found what looks to be some sort of library with Draugr inside. The weird thing is that the Draugr appear to be reading, taking notes of some kind." Vivi bit her bottom lip in thought. "I don't entirely know what's inside that library but it could be valuable. Knowledge is power after all."

Teris nodded his head. "This is true but do you think we could possibly sneak around them? We still don't know what exactly is behind this predicament. Besides, if we can take out the necromancer, won't the Draugr simply fall away? I thought re-animated creatures like these could only remain as long as their creator was around?"

Teris brought up a valuable point. If they could take out the person responsible for these Draugr then they wouldn't have to fight them at all. But if they failed at killing the necromancer in time, they could be swarmed instead from behind by the undead. Vivi wondered which path would be the most fruitful. Surely if-

"Fight me, Draugr!"

Vivi snapped out of her thoughts and looked over her shoulder just in time to see Miso, maul raised, rush into the library.

_Well, shit. _

"He is surprisingly quiet for an old man," Moses grumbled, notching a bolt into his crossbow.

The group immediately began bolting after Miso, rushing into the library only to see...nothing.

Miso stood there, a look of confusion on his face as he poked a Draugr standing by one of the shelves in the cheek with his finger. The Draugr, for his part, didn't even seem to register the Dragonborns presence. It simply kept on reading, its head bobbing every time Miso poked it.

"I believe they are defective," Miso murmured, sounding disappointed. "I thought Draugr were supposed to be dangerous? Why won't it attack me?" Miso raised a hand and slapped the Draugr upside the head, sending it reeling forward. The Draugr dropped its book, catching itself on the bookshelf and turned to Miso.

Vivi raised up a hand, preparing to cast a spell in case the Draugr attacked, but it simply stood there, staring at Miso with a look that can only be described as annoyance.

It brushed itself off, picked up its book, and continued reading, seemingly not noticing or not caring about the fact that it was nearly burned, shot and stabbed to death by the group.

Vivi must have been making quite the face because upon making eye contact with Miso, he began to laugh.

"I'm going to be honest. I have no idea what's going on," Vivi said, eyes jumping between the Draugr and the books. None of them seemed to care that they just entered the library. Perhaps this was for the best? Or perhaps they were lulling them into a false sense of security?

"If they won't attack us, maybe we should let them be. No point in starting a fight where it isn't necessary." Teris motioned to the Draugr. "Maybe they were ordered to read and not fight?"

Moses snickered lightly. "Perhaps. I think we should take them out though. If they won't fight back, we can just go around and kill them all the easier. Don't want them to catch up to us later and cause trouble."

Both were valid points. If they didn't deal with the Draugr now, they could be an issue later on. On the other hand though, they might not be an issue at all and dealing with them could simply take up time and possibly injure members in the party.

"Before we even decide on that, let me try something. It might give us some more insight into what exactly we're dealing with here." Vivi motioned for the others to back away slightly as she began to cast a spell. Specifically, she was casting _Detect Magic_. Not the most powerful of spells but one that can certainly come in handy. The only downside is that it took 10 minutes to cast.

Halfway through the casting of the spell, she could hear Miso begin lecturing someone on the proper way to cook an egg. She didn't linger on the conversation, focusing instead on the spell. Once the spell had been completed, Vivi found herself nearly blinded by what she saw. The entire library oozed magic!

The walls seemed to have a vast network of magical traces that zigzagged to and fro. The bookshelves themselves were not magical but many of the books were. The Draugr, unsurprisingly, oozed bits of magical energy. Specifically, faint traces of necromancy. Vivi let her eyes wander the library. So many questions began to pop into her mind but were quickly silenced as her eyes landed on the shelf to her left. There, at the center of the shelf, was a single, magical book. It stood out like a beacon amidst a sea of other, non-magical books. It was large, easily as big as her spell tome and it glowed vibrantly with magic.

She wanted it.

Its siren song called to her, asking her to reach out her hand and pluck it from its confines. Vivi found herself moving past the Draugr that Miso had smacked, towards the book. Her hand moved of its own accord, extending out and gently caressing the spine of the book. It was strangely rough and her fingers felt magnetically drawn to the book. Even more interestingly, the book seemed to pull from her.

She could feel this other force reach out to meet her fingers and begin burrowing into her magical reservoir. It didn't hurt, nor did she actually see anything extend out from the book itself. Rather, she just felt another presence, an outside force that began pulling from Vivi's magical essence like a thirsty animal to water.

Vivi began to pull the book free, giving a gentle tug.

"_Riiyak! Don Vorgish zerak!" _

Vivi stopped tugging and turned to her left, finding herself staring straight into the angry eyes of a Draugr. It had dropped the book it had been holding and had pulled its sword out of its sheath. The blade, though old and slightly rusted, still looked sharp enough to gut her. The Draugr stared at Vivi, its sword unsheathed and its eyes glowing a much more brilliant blue than before. But it did not attack.

Vivi chanced a look over her shoulder and saw that the other 9 Draugr looked much the same. They had stopped whatever they had been doing, unsheathed their weapons, and were staring at Vivi intently. They didn't attack though. Rather, they seemed to be waiting on Vivi.

"Uh, Vivi? Everything okay in there?" Teris voice came around the corner. She could see Lathanria and Teris slowly approaching, weapons unsheathed. Their eyes were focused on the Draugr who didn't even seem to register their presence. All eyes remained on Vivi.

Vivi turned her attention to the book she'd been pulling out. It had just been a small tug and only just revealed a portion of its front cover. Keeping her eyes on the Draugr in front of her, Vivi slowly began pushing the book back into its place on the shelf. As soon as the book touched the shelf wall it was like nothing had happened.

The Draugr sheathed their weapons and the blue fury that had shined in their eyes faded away once more. They just returned to their tasks. Some picked up the books they'd dropped and dusted them off while some returned to their seated positions at the long table.

The Draugr immediately in front of Vivi sheathed its weapon, picked its book up once more, and continued reading without another glance.

Vivi exhaled heavily, letting her hand drop from the book. Sweat beaded on her brow and she closed her eyes for a moment, taking a few deep breaths. She was just nearly killed. If she had pulled that book free, whatever it was, they would have attacked her, gutted her like a fish.

"I'm fine! I'm fine." Vivi carefully made her way back to the group. She was careful to not touch or get too close to any of the Draugr for fear of another reaction. They didn't pay her mind and went about their business as usual.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Lathanria pulled Vivi close, inspecting her for possible wounds.

Vivi sighed, a small smile tugging at her lips. "I'm fine, really. I mean, I almost died, but I'm fine." Vivi motioned to the bookshelves. "The room, the books, they're all magical. The Draugr seem to be guarding them. I don't know why but they are. I tried pulling one of the books-"

"You did WHAT?" Moses gave Vivi a disapproving look. Granted, she probably deserved it but come on. It was a library filled to the brim with magical books! How could she NOT try and pull one out?

"I SAID-" Vivi bit back "-I tried pulling one of the books out. That's what caused all of that. Once I left the book alone, they calmed down." Vivi looked back at the Draugr, studying them. "They seem to be only interested in defending the books. Which means that if we want to take them out…"

Vivi grinned. "I have an idea."

* * *

Granted, it wasn't necessarily a good idea. If things went right, then they would be as happy as ducks in water! If things went wrong...well, then they went REALLY wrong.

But hey, that's what life's about right? Taking those risks? Making those crazy decisions? Fighting the undead in an underground library with your girlfriend, best friend and random strangers? That's just life.

That's also how Vivi found herself standing near the entrance of the library with Lathanria. Teris, Miso, Moses, and Grix stood on the inside. Their weapons were drawn and they each stood by a different Draugr.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Teris asked aloud, looking between the Draugr in front of him and Vivi. "Tell me again how this is supposed to work?"

Miso snorted, tossing his maul between his hands impatiently. "It's simple. If they are only focused on the books, then they shouldn't care about us! So, we can take out a few of them in one fell swoop and then BOOM! The library will be all ours."

Teris did not look any more confident from that answer. "And if it doesn't work?"

"If it doesn't work-" Vivi waved a hand dismissively "-then we improvise! Ready?"

"Ready!" Came the chorus of responses in return.

"Alright. On my mark." Vivi raised her hands up in preparation. She could already feel the familiar tingle of magic gathering at her fingertips.

"3….2…"

"GO!" Miso raised his maul high above his head and brought it slamming down onto one of the Draugrs heads. There was the sound of bone cracking as the Draugr was thrown to the ground. The back of its skull had been crushed inwards and Miso had to tug his weapon out of the crater that his maul had made. "HAHA! Wondrous!"

"Gods damn it, Miso! You were supposed to wait!" Moses growled. With a quick motion, Moses brought his shortsword up and back down in a slashing arc. The blade tore through the Draugrs robes and screeched against the bits of metal armor underneath. Grix lunged forward, jaws open wide to tear at the undead creatures throat.

In a sudden flurry of motion, the Draugr raised an arm up and slapped Grix aside, sending the green drake careening off into a chair.

The Draugr that Moses had attacked turned and opened its mouth. "_Roh'ktor! GREEEEAAAAYYHHHHH!" _

The other 9 Draugr in the room, not counting the 10th that Miso had dispatched with, all howled back in response. There was the sound of blades being unsheathed and curses in the ancient Nord tongue.

"Yes!" Miso stepped over the Draugr he'd defeated and began charging towards another one. "Now we have a fight!"

Vivi would love to think that the fight only got better from there but the truth is it didn't. As soon as the battle cry was let out, the Draugr swarmed like flies to honey onto the nearest enemies. Moses was quickly pinned down by three of the Draugr, hacking and slashing at them as they came. They forced his back to a wall and did not relent in their attacks. Grix clawed and bit as best he could in an attempt to help Moses but it was to no avail. Beneath their robes, they were more heavily armored than they'd originally thought and Grix's claws weren't finding any weak spots.

Miso found himself, similarly, getting cornered by four Draugr. Unlike Moses however, he reveled in this fact. His bellowing laughter echoed off the walls as he swung his maul in wide arcs. Despite the Draugr bearing seemingly stiff and rotten forms, were agile; able to parry and dodge most of Miso's attacks.

Teris was holding his own against one of the Draugr. Combatants possessing sword and shield on either side, both seemed to be evenly matched. For every strike Teris made, the Draugr blocked and retaliated, only to be blocked in turn.

The last Draugr had turned to Vivi and Lathanria, hacking its weapon at them both. It was a bit larger than the other Draugr and wielded a warhammer with deadly efficiency. It swung the warhammer back and forth in wide arcs, marching forward with each swing.

Vivi reached into her pocket and grabbed a small diamond. She held it up in front of her, muttering arcane words under her breath. The diamond crackled with electricity and began to glow a vibrant blue. Vivi placed a hand over the diamond and drew her fingers back, forming the shape of a ball with her fingers. The electricity followed her motions and formed a ball of pure lightning in her palm.

"Lathanria, down!"

Lathanria dropped to the floor as Vivi hurled the ball of lightning over her. It slammed into the Draugr's chest and disappeared into the creature's body. Lightning crackled all throughout its body and it howled in pain. Its body shuddered from the lightning and it raised its warhammer above its head. Before it could bring it down onto Lathanria, it stiffened and stood stock-still. The blue light in its eyes died down and faded before the Draugr fell over onto its side, dead.

"Thank you, love." Lathanria gave Vivi a quick smile before her form began to grow in size and change. Black fur began to sprout from her body and she fell onto all fours. In a matter of seconds, Lathanria had changed her form and was now a Cave Badger. Badger-Lath rushed off towards Miso, leaping onto the backs of the Draugr surrounding him.

Vivi figured Lathanria and Miso would be fine and so turned her attention to the rest of the group. She turned just in time to watch Teris knock the sword out of the Draugr's hand. He rushed forward and slammed his shield into the creature's face, dazing it for a second. Before it could defend itself, Teris drove his sword into the side of its head. He pulled the sword out and the Draugr fell limp to the ground.

"Good job," Vivi said.

"Thanks." Teris wasted no time in rushing over to Moses' aid.

Moses, for the most part, was holding his own. He had managed to kill one of the three Draugr that surrounded him. Wielding nothing but a shortsword and his agility, he parried and dodged their attacks as best he could.

The Draugr were relentless, hacking and slashing without stopping, giving him no reprieve. One of them feinted an attack and instead lunged forward, grappling Moses.

Moses struggled in the undead creature's grip, kicking wildly. He was forcibly turned to the side, exposing his undefended back.

The second Draugr marched forward, sword poised to strike.

Grix growled and launched himself at the Draugr, tackling it to the ground and biting into its throat and face. By the time Grix stopped, there wasn't much left of the Draugr's face.

Vivi summoned a small ball of fire into her palm and hurled it toward the Draugr holding Moses. It impacted it squarely in the shoulder, burning its skin and flesh like paper.

The Draugr howled in pain and let go of Moses, turning to face Vivi. He came face to face with Teris blade instead.

With that threat taken care of, Vivi turned her attention to Miso and Lathanria. She summoned another ball of fire and prepared to launch it at the Draugr but found she didn't need to. As expected, they were just fine.

Miso stood atop three Draugr bodies, his maul raised above his head in triumph. Lathanria stood beside him, still in badger form, on top of another Draugr whose arms had been bitten clean off.

"Ah! To be in glorious battle again!" Miso rested his maul on his shoulder and stepped off the mound of bodies, a grin stretched across his face. "It makes this old man feel young again!"

"Well done everyone!" Teris wiped his blade on the dead Draugr in front of him before sheathing it. "Anybody hurt?"

"Miso." Vivi waved her hand at the dragonborn's bare chest. "You alright there? Looks like you took a few hits."

The old dragonborn looked down at his chest in confusion. Sure enough, there were two shallow slashes across his chest. Miso looked more surprised than in any actual pain and watched a bit of blood dribble down his chest.

"I had not realized that I'd been hit." Miso reached down and tore off a piece of the Draugr's robes and wiped himself off. "It is a small wound, no need to worry."

"Are you sure?" Lathanria did not look convinced and began fussing over Miso. She did her best to clean up his wound with some water but he kept batting her hands away, insisting he was fine.

With Lathanria fussing over Miso, Vivi turned her attention to Moses. She didn't see any fresh cuts or wounds on him. Aside from looking a little dirtier, he seemed fine.

She really had to give it to him, he put up one hell of a fight. He managed to fend off three Draugr with his back (very literally) against a wall, with very little wiggle room. Sure, Grix was helping to fight them, but a single mistake and they would've run Moses through with their swords and torn him apart.

"What?" Moses asked, noticing that Vivi was staring at him. "Something on me?"

"No. Just glad you're okay."

Moses laughed and shook his head. "Don't worry Vivi. It'll take a lot more than that to take me down."

Vivi had no doubt about that. Turning her attention away from the group, Vivi quickly remembered why they had done all this to begin with. The books!

With an excited squeak, Vivi hurried off to the place she had been before. Her fingers trailed down the many books on the shelf until she found the one she'd been drawn to before. Without hesitation, she quickly pulled it free and studied the cover.

The book itself was about as large as her spell tome and its cover was a beige color. The material appeared to be leather but was rougher and felt more akin to the scales of some great horned lizard. The outside of the book was blank, with no words visible on the cover at all.

Vivi once again felt that strange pull coming from the book. Though she saw nothing, she could feel something reaching out towards her, pulling her closer. It was a silent plea, though for what she was unsure.

Unfortunately, she didn't have much time to think about it as the ground and walls around her groaned and rumbled. Vivi looked around in surprise and horror. The books, slowly but surely, began to crumble around her. It was horrible! Blue fire seemed to ignite itself on all the books, slowly consuming them.

Vivi rushed forward to some of the other magical books she'd seen and began gathering them up, but to no avail. While the flames didn't burn her, they didn't cease either, and regardless of how quickly she gathered them up and tried patting out the flames, it didn't matter. In a matter of moments or perhaps minutes, the library was empty of any and all books, except the one Vivi held in her hand. The rest had crumbled and vanished, even the dust seeming to fade into non-existence.

Vivi looked around the library with sadness. There had been so many magical books. Who knew what spells or knowledge they might have held. Yet they were all gone and only the one in her hands remained.

"You alright there, Vivi?" Teris asked, laying a hand on her shoulder. He looked concerned and worried and his eyes kept darting to the bookshelves around them.

"I'm fine." Vivi took a deep breath and let out a frustrated sigh. "I was just hoping to gather a few more books, potentially spells."

"Well, at least you got one," Lathanria said as she came up beside Vivi. The Drow leaned in close and pressed a reassuring kiss to Vivi's forehead. "There'll be plenty more opportunities to find magical books, love. Right now though, we should focus on getting out of here."

Vivi nodded her head slowly. Lathanria was right. There would be plenty of spells and books to thumb through another day. Right now though, they had many more important things to worry about. Like getting back home in one piece, for example.

"You're right." Vivi quickly stored the strange tome into her pack, wondering why it hadn't burned away like all the others. Her curiosity would have to wait for another time, however.

Vivi did a quick sweep of the room to ensure that they had not missed anything of potential value. Aside from the swords the Draugr had, there wasn't anything of value.

"So, are we all just going to ignore the fact that the books all caught fire and vanished?" Moses said, looking around at the party. "Nobody wants to comment on that?"

"There were books here?" Miso muttered, a look of confusion passing over him.

"It doesn't matter now. Maybe the books were all decoys or illusions. Regardless of what happened, Lath is right. We should focus on getting out of here."

"You're right," Teris said. "So, what's our next move?"

"Our next move?" Vivi grinned and her eyes blazed with an arcane, determined blue light. "Our next move is to find the bastard that brought us here."


End file.
